After twelve months of support, coaching and mentoring, it was recently time for us to say goodbye to five startups: Tekkr, Homesome Living, SulPont, Maluma and Fion Energy. Last year, they were all part of the Berliner Startup Stipendium, a support programme for startups at our BHT Startup Hub, funded by the Berlin Senate Department for Economic Affairs, Energy & Enterprises and ESF.

Despite many challenges, realignments and team changes, all startups were able to make great progress on their start-up journey – even four of them gained paying customers, which is a great success.

Although both their overall journey and their business models were very different, they all agreed on one thing: the BHT Startup Hub and its programme of coaching and workshops on various topics, as well as the financial support from the Berliner Startup-Stipendium, gave them the security and confidence they needed in the early stages of setting up their businesses.

We are delighted to have been able to accompany them over the past twelve months and wish them every success in their future endeavours – and of course we hope to see them again at the Startup Hub and Coworking Space, where they are always welcome.

The textile industry remains one of the sectors with the highest CO2 emissions, which is why the circular economy harbours great potential in this industry. But what is the best way to combine fashion and sustainability? Innovative solutions were presented on 2 July 2024 in the Beuth Halle at Berliner Hochschule für Technik (BHT) at our event “Circular Fashion: Embracing Sustainable Design and Couture”, as part of the A-B-Circular project to promote the climate-neutral manufacture of products “Made in Berlin” in the design/fashion and architecture/construction sectors. The A-B-Circular project is funded by the Berlin Senate Department for Economic Affaitd, Energy and Public Enterprises as part of the call for a circular economy in the Masterplan Industriestadt Berlin 2022-2026. The event not only highlighted the importance of circular economy principles, but also inspired participants to integrate these practices into their own designs and businesses.

The programme opened with inspiring keynotes from industry and academic leaders, including Prof. Dr Florian Schindler from BHT, Anke Pfau from the Association of the North-East German Textile and Clothing Industry (vti), Jens Heitland, former Global Head of Innovation at IKEA Centres, and Catalina Panoiu from HYUNDAI CRADLE. Their insights into the challenges and opportunities of the textile circular economy provided the framework for a discussion full of insights and practical strategies for implementing the circular economy.

A panel discussion moderated by Janna Schlender from IMPACT HUB Berlin with experts such as Prof. Marte Hentschel from VORN – The Berlin Fashion Hub and Aleksandar Kovacevic from Re-Fresh Global further enriched the dialogue. They explored sustainable innovation, partnerships in the circular economy and the transformative potential of eco-friendly practices in the fashion industry.

The programme also included pitches from start-ups and a fashion show where the founding teams and designers presented their creations that incorporate upcycling elements and redefine eco-friendly aesthetics. Among others, Reverse Supply, The Loop Look, Re-Fresh Global, La Moda Me, Peralta Clothing, Kristin Verita Katze, Emma Lafoz and Canussa were there with their remarkable contributions.

The BHT GLASBOX team, part of the project “Zukunft findet Stadt – Hochschulnetzwerk für ein resilientes Berlin” also demonstrated how sustainable projects can be realised. Organised as a makerspace, the GLASBOX is intended to promote creative exchange and is open to BHT students and employees as well as external visitors. The space is equipped with 3D printers, sewing and stitching machines.

Business information, support and creative projects by and for female entrepreneurs. The Female Founders Day on 29 May 2024, organised by the BHT Startup Hub (Berliner Hochschule für Technik), was packed with useful insights and offered female founders inspiration and valuable input for their start-up journey. Our partners Startup Incubator Berlin (Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Recht) with Sandra Thumm, HTW Startup (Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft) with Lena Scholp and Claudia Dünckmann and Berlin Partner for Business and Technology were also on board.

The programme included exciting keynote speeches, interesting and diverse pitches from female founders with their innovative and creative projects as well as reverse pitches from women’s networks and organisations.

A particularly motivating and inspiring speech was given by Victory Magazine’s ‘Most Influential Woman of the Year 2023’, Denise Schuster, CEO of Park Your Truck. Her refreshing talk vividly demonstrated ambition, hard work and a positive attitude help you overcome a number of challenges on the way to becoming a successful business in the (male-dominated) transport and logistics industry. And always keep a good portion of flexibility as well as adapt and expand your business idea to the given circumstances.

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